• What can you do that will give you a sense of achievement and self-esteem? For Renee, it was coding. Find something you’re good at and become even better. Use it to help people (e.g., friends stuck on a project) and you may find a happier version of yourself.

She didn't speak a word of English, a requirement for all Google employees. She quit a second job at a mobile ANALYTICS startup to prepare for the interview. She applied for three jobs at a time, turning down offers from Baidu, Tencent, and other top tech companies in China. When she finally got...

After college, she saw how introverted she was. So she challenged herself by joining a company with a poor reputation as a salesperson. Most of her friends joined technology companies. She sold educational consulting services that helped students prepare for significant exams like the SAT and GMA...

Despite a growing sense of isolation, Renee had the highest scores in the class. She "solved the problem" of isolation by politicking her way into the graces of the three social circles. She won over the rough-and-tumble mafia gang members, tutored the good students, and protected the Misfits.

The more she did it, the more she found she was good at programming and enjoyed it. During her junior and senior years in college, she started a company that built CRMs and ERPs for clients.

At the Google Japan office, her commute was an hour each way. As a person who is “obsessive about productivity”, she used the time to listen to spoken audio and practice her English and Japanese.

“It took me just as long to find good audio content as it did to listen to it,” she said. “It t...

With advancements in natural language processing, voice tech is surging. Some of Renee’s predictions surprised me. 

• Get ready to have Alexa, or a cousin from another company, in your car. 
• By 2020, we’ll be consuming 10x more data compared to 2017. 
• Soon,...

A lot remains to be seen with the young audio startup, but as one of the most ambitious female founders I’ve met, Renee’s stoic tenacity may be the ticket needed to capitalize on the current podcasting wave...